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l Letters Patent No. 104,505, dated June 21,1870.

mpaovrzn Timms-HOLDER.

. bwa- L hlfhe Schedine referred to hi these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all "whom it may concern l Be. it'known that I, .Luiss SPENCER Smm, of

Y Middletown, `in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut; have` invented a `certain new and improved Twine-Holder; and I do hereb'y declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

My twine-holder is one of that class which is adapted to bc suspended from .the ceiling in a store or manufzietory, and to deliver the twine through, a hole from a balliu lits interior. Itis selclosing. It is packed in a very" small compass for transportation, and, havgivcs promise of` being verydurablc.

I will proecedito describe what I consider the best means of .carrying out my invention.

The accompanying drawing forms a palt of this specification. i i `.Figure l is a side elevation of the simplest form of v my device, in the nearly-closedr condition, Aready for use. y i,

Figure 2 is a plan vicwot the larger or upper half of the same.

' Figure 3 is a central section through another slightly differing form o f the construction.` v y' 4Figure 5 is a section at` right angles to that in fig. 3.

Figure 4` is a section corresponding to iig. 5, but4 showing the device in itslelused condition, ready to receive a fresh ball of twine, or ready to be enveloped in paper and shipped or packed for storage in a small compass.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts iii all the figures. p

A' is a hemispherical `shell,ioI cast-iron, provided 'with a little lug, a., at the top, by which thc whole may be suspended by ajcord or the like, as will `be ob- B is a smaller hemisphercal shell, of the same or a different material; and

, by theaid of lugsex'tending from d and B, asrcpresented.

rivets shall hold the ad jacent sur- C and Dare gets uniting thc-shells A and B, on

oooh o f thefpar I prefer 'that the y faces of the shells A'and B tightly together, so as to induce'an appreciable friction, but it is important that they be `not so stitfflas to prevent the parts turning upon each other. i

When the shell B is turned into the other, the whole may b'e packed in a very small compass.

When it is ready for use, and is suspended by thc ring M, a hall of geordisplaccd within the inner shell 13, and'theshell is turned downward until it assumes the. position shown in fig.` 1, where the device present-s completely inelcscd.

`-nearly spherical appearance and the ball ot` cord is ing no necessity for locking-latches orother compli- I. y cated fastenings, is little liable to get out of ordci, and

The cord is drawn out .through a hole,.b, which, when the device is in use, is at the lowest point inthe structure. The end of the cord maybe easily rove through thel hole b .whenthe twine-holder is about- `halt' opened. i It will he observed that the gravity of the part B l tends to keep the device always in its spherical condition, as shown ih fige-1. No jerking about of the dcviee can throw it z nuch out'of this condition. It requires no fastening to nearly-closed postion.- U Although, as above remarked, the device may-.bc

hold it'always in the closed or .worked very successfully without anylocking, and it is always self-closing, under all conditions, I propose, as an additional improvement or feature, vto make a slight lock by the aid of the elasticity of the parts.

l B' is a projection.. reaching out from one edge of the part B, and adapted to t into a recess in the part A when these parts are brought forcibly together. Now, after `putting the ball of twine orcord wthi'tiieapparatus,whieh-1 have' called a twine-holder, and shutting thc parts together with sutlicient force, the projection B enters the recess A', `and remainsthere contincd until a considerable force is employed to tnrn it back. The elasticity of the parts permits a'yielding to a suficient extent to allow the opening and closing in this manner.V v

When my device is provided with this elastic locking-catch, there is no swinging open of the device as,y

it is jerked about. In the absence of vsuch a locking device it may, and is liable co-swing open alittle in one direction and the other, butthis involves no particular harm.

-1 have represented the shells Annd B as made open- -work.` They may be vam'ously ornamented in this manner, and the interstices, by allowing a view of the twine or cord in the interior, serve a useful function, in addition to the lightening of the shell. The shells '"ay he struck up in dies` from sheet metal, or they 1 ay be spun up frolu soft brass or any material which' will bear spinning. They may be molded in papier machu', hard rubber, or various other materials, or may be cut in wood, and (either witl or without saturating the wood with glue or some other-material, to prevent its warping and increase its strcngth,) may be made. to serve-a useful purpose. I

E, iig; 1, shows a projection on the part B, which serves as a stop to arrest the turning of this part too far in one direction, and `allowit to turn only in thc other direction. It may strike against a plain portion of the rim of the part B, or itmay be allowed toentclr a slight recess provided there to receive it. .I do not consider it essential to the succcssiof my device.

ltwill bc understood that, in the other form, in which a part, B', ou the one pai t, enters by an elastic yiclding into a recess, A', and slightly looks the parts, the thehemispherical shell A, and the projection B on elastic action is partaken of by the general mass of the smaller hemispherieal shell B, when the parts are the part A or B, or bot-h, and that no separate spring hinged together in aline through their centers C D, or attachment is necessary. and adapted to operate in the manner'herein set forth.

I claiml In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name 1.` The self-shutting twine-holder herein -described, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. having its two parts, A and B, adapted to maintain their proper position by gravity, substantially as and Witnesses: for .th purposes herein set forth. WM. C. DEY,

ROBERT RoULsToN.

JAMES S. SMITH.

V2. In connection with the above, the recess A in 

